KARACHI, June 15 (APP) — The Pakistan Stock Exchange convened a special Gong Ceremony on Monday to honor the milestones of the China‑Pakistan Economic Corridor and the successful listing of Service Long March Tyres Limited on PSX, which garnered robust investor response during both book‑building and public subscription stages.
The SLM IPO attracted more than 35,000 applications from a wide spectrum of institutional and retail investors across the book‑building and retail tranche segments — both of which were fully oversubscribed — raising Rs 7.78 billion, according to a statement.
The virtual ceremony was attended by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, PSX Managing Director and CEO Farrukh H. Sabzwari, SECP Commissioner Ali Farid Khwaja, Executive Vice President of China Financial Futures Exchange and PSX Shareholder Director YOU Hang, SLM CEO Omar Saeed, CEO Arif Habib Limited Shahid Ali Habib, and PSX Chairman Ruhail Muhammad, who each shared remarks.
The initial book‑building tranche comprised 292.3 million ordinary shares, which were fully subscribed within five seconds and oversubscribed 16.7 times. The retail tranche, consisting of 97.4 million ordinary shares, was oversubscribed 7.6 times and received more than 33,000 applications. This strong demand reflects the deepening market maturity and expanding participation of investors in Pakistan’s equity capital markets.
The offering initially set a floor price of Rs 14.25 per share; however, intense demand during book‑building pushed the final strike price to Rs 19.95 per share. As a result, the total transaction size rose to Rs 7.78 billion, up from the Rs 5.55 billion projected at the floor price.
Participants in the IPO included commercial banks, mutual funds, development finance institutions, insurance companies, investment banks, pension and employee funds, brokerage houses, high‑net‑worth individuals, foreign investors, and retail investors.
The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, in his address, highlighted the significance of the transaction for Pakistan’s capital markets and manufacturing sector and emphasized the importance of encouraging greater private sector participation in the capital market to support economic growth, industrial development, and investment mobilization in the country.
With 11 IPOs this fiscal year, investor confidence is ringing loudly from PSX and this IPO is a strong vote of confidence in Pakistan’s economy and its future trajectory, he said, encouraging the SLM leadership to bring more ventures from China to Pakistan, where the government stands ready to support and facilitate further investment.
Farrukh H. Sabzwari termed the ceremony as a landmark occasion for Pakistan’s capital market and remarked that the listing came at a time when Pakistan has just presented a positive federal budget, offering relief to the salaried class, reducing super‑taxes, and introducing incentives for housing and business.
Despite global challenges, our markets remain resilient, with PSX touching Rs 21 trillion market capitalization, average daily trading value Rs 57 million and the third highest number of IPOs in 25 years, he added.
Ali Farid Khwaja, remarked that it was a special day for Pakistan as we celebrate both the success of CPEC and the listing of SLM. SECP is committed to enabling more companies to list and supporting PSX’s ambitious target of expanding the investor base fivefold to 2.5 million investors in the coming years, he said.
Mr YOU Hang, stated that SLM’s IPO demonstrated confidence in Pakistan‑China cooperation, saying that the listing was not only a financial achievement but also a symbol of the deepening industrial and financial ties between our nations.
“SLM’s success is a model for future Chinese enterprises to list in Pakistan, reinforcing the enduring China‑Pakistan friendship,” he remarked and reiterated commitment to promoting connectivity between the capital markets of both countries and supporting more high‑quality cooperation projects.
Ruhail Muhammad remarked that the listing underscored the importance of China‑Pakistan collaboration as CPEC moves into its second phase focused on industrial and financial integration.
